Oscar-winning British film director Sam Mendes has criticised the BBC's commercial arm for refusing to invest in BBC2's current adaptations of four Shakespeare history plays.

BBC Worldwide declined to part-fund the lavish "Hollow Crown" productions, which began with Richard II starring Ben Whishaw on Saturday, handing Hollywood studio NBC Universal the chance to step in and provide funding.

Sam Mendes, whose Neal Street Productions developed the Hollow Crown concept, said that he tried – and failed – to persuade the BBC's commercial team to stump up about a third of the total £9m production cost. Without the extra cash, the Shakespeare programmes could not have been made.

The director and team were stunned with the rejection, which came even though BBC2 was prepared to meet a large part of the cost from the licence fee. "We originally pitched The Hollow Crown to BBC Worldwide. But they were not convinced that Shakespeare would sell internationally," he said.

Mendes said that he decided to speak out when the fourth play, Henry V, starring War Horse's Tom Hiddleston, was treated to a gala launch headed by the BBC's director general Mark Thompson at the British Museum.

Joint financing of major productions is normal to share out the financial risk. To save licence fee payers' money, the BBC will meet only a percentage of the production cost, leaving the producer to find a commercial backer to meet the rest of the bill in exchange for handing over income from international and DVD rights.

Often, the BBC's own commercial division, Worldwide, meets the funding deficit, but on this occasion Mendes personally failed to persuade the unit in a face to face meeting in January 2011, even thought he could list the well-known actors prepared to appear in the proposed adapations of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V and Richard II.

However, with BBC Worldwide refusing to participate, executives at BBC2 told Mendes that they would only able to guarantee that it could pay for Richard II – leaving the other three productions under threat.

Instead, Mendes looked elsewhere and found that NBC Universal – which is rapidly expanding in Britain with programmes such as Downton Abbey – was willing to buy the overseas and DVD rights. NBC believes it can sell The Hollow Crown as a 10-part miniseries of hour-long episodes in some areas, on the lines of The Tudors.

"It is, of course, an irony that the US giant NBC Universal then stepped in and spotted the long-term commercial potential of the project." Mendes said.

Gareth Neame, the British-born NBC Universal executive producer, was asked for help and rapidly agreed. He said: "I have a sense it will be commercially viable, not overnight, but in the long run. They will be sold for many years to come. Countries such as Germany and Japan are very interested in Shakespeare. It is a roll of the dice, but one we should do."

A spokesman for BBC Worldwide said:" We have to balance every investment against commercial returns including projections from our international sales team. In this case we decided to pass. We are pleased to hear that Neal Street and NBC Universal are partnering to distribute these films overseas, in addition to UK audiences this summer."

BBC Worldwide said they had recently invested in Call the Midwife (also made by Mendes's Neal Street Productions), and the forthcoming Tom Stoppard adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End series of novels. BBC Worldwide Productions are also currently shooting Da Vinci's Demons, described as a Renaissance-inspired romp, in Swansea with a US cable network.

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